You’ll never go hungry in Holywood – 2011 update

I’ve been meaning to update it for a while now, so with the sun in my lens and that mild urge to satisfy my cognitive surplus,I walked up then down the 500 yards that is Holywood High Street.

In that post I counted 34 places to eat – either restaurants or takeaways. I’m not counting food shops (bakeries, fruit shops), except when they have a restaurant or takeaway.

Starting at the Bangor end of town we start with:

Coast

There has been a restaurant here for as long as I can remember. I think it was a chippie in the late ’60’s/early ’70’s. Then a Chinese takeaway and eventually Jiggery’s.

Right next door is:

Holywood Fish Cafe

Just around the corner on Church Road you have

The Iona and Pannini next door to each other

with The Golden Rainbow across the road next to the Sundae Coffee shop which opened and closed between this and the November 2009 blogpost.

Back onto High Street and down Shore Street for Camphill Coffee Shop.

Several years ago I went into Camphill at 8.55 am and asked for coffee. I was refused because it was not yet 9.00 am. I’ve never been back and don’t intend to.

Next door is the excellent Koi oriental (Chinese, Japanese, Korean etc) restaurant which I recommend highly. Great food, great atmosphere and great staff.

(I promise to get better photos – but I’m not going to complain about a sunny day.)

Slightly further down is the petite Loganberry – another coffee shop which is usually busy, but I’m yet to visit it.

Turn round and back up to High Street. Word is that the Whalley Gallery is going to open a coffee shop – and the Illy sign would be a dead give away.

A few steps up is Skinners. This is a bakery with a cafe in the back – this is a place I really like; no pretentations, just a really good basic fry-ups.

Then you have The Frisky Bear.

Most of the places to eat and drink coffee in Holywood are locally owned, Cafe Nero is the only ‘international’ brand. It’s like any other Cafe Nero I’ve been in.

There must be more than 100 yards to walk before you find another place on the left side of the road , but if you are parched even at the thought – there are several places on the right side – but I’ll come to those later.

On Hibernia Street, there is the long established Platform Bar and Restaurant

And The Ruddy Duck – no not the Dirty Duck. That’s down at Kinnegar.

Down Sullivan Place is the Enigma.

Then further up High Street is the excellent CoffeeYard and Gallery

A couple of doors up is Pizzini a takeaway.

Finally on the left hand side is The Bay Tree (‘Cinnamon Scones’ – is the usual response to that name. Very popular and it also sell ‘lovely gorgeous gifty things’ like pottery and jewellery.

Tired yet? I hope not. Because that is only one side of the road. Ironically it has taken longer to write this than the whole journey took.

But over to the right side of the road.

Opposite the Bay Tree you have:

The Bokhara (Indian restaurant and carry out)

The Sun Island Chinese takeaway and Holywood Pizza Co. (recommended).

Subway is a sandwich franchise.

The Lemon Tree is new (but there has been a takaway there for years) and Streat is a local franchise.

Centra slips into this survey because it has a hot food carry-out, but it is primarily a supermarket.

Another chippie – Georgia’s

The just down the road, Sutton’s and Cafe Kina.

Are we there yet? Almost.

Just to speed things up – three in a row. Fontana, Coffee Emporium (update: 25 June 2011 now closed) and Wine and Co (another favourite)

Passing by the Maypole Bar – no don’t pass by – go in for a pint (it’s a proper bar and does not do food) you are on your final few.

A very good Chinese restaurant The Water Margin (update: 25 June 2011 now closed) , an Indian restaurant The Ganges and almost finally Lapamanzi.

The tour ends with one of the newest places an oriental (i.e, Chinese plus) Gaze which looks good, but I’ve not been in it yet.

So the grand total? I’ve probably missed a few. But it looks like 36 (update: 34)- up 3 (update: 1) from November 2009.

Since then some places have come and gone, some have changed names and owners, some have started in places where there was no coffee shop or restaurant before.

And the standards vary of course.

But – if you have the cash – you are still not going to go hungry in Holywood.